Seattle Mariners

Seattle are coming off their second straight last place finish in the AL West but showed some signs of improvement with the additions of some late season call-ups, including arguably the hottest prospect in all of baseball. They should improve upon last years 69-93 record but can they catch the rest of the West?

Pitching

Joel Pineiro took a big step backwards last year and Jamie Moyer started to show his age and that was the main reason Seattle struggled for much of the year. The club has made moves to solidify the rotation by adding Jarrod Washburn to the rotation and he should provide plenty of quality innings in Safeco when he’s healthy, but they will need Pineiro if they are to keep in touch in the West.

With Shiggy Hasegawa retired and Ron Villone a Yankee the pen took a big hit. Eddie Guardardo continued to be Steady Eddie and JJ Putz and Rafael Soriano are developing into formidable set-up men but if the rotation can’t log innings then the middle relief does look lightweight.

Defence

The infield has promise with Jose Lopez and the impressive Yuniesky Betancourt up the middle. Betancourt has already shown he can flash the leather in the Majors after a strong showing as a September call-up.

Ichiro Suzuki is a phenomenal outfielder whose mix of range and instincts are only comparable to Andruw Jones and as good as Jones’ arm is Ichiro’s is better. He throws harder and more accurately than anyone. No one runs on Ichiro.

Jeremy Reed is a good centerfielder who is probably better suited to left. It awaits to be seen if Sin-Soo Choo or Chris Snelling gets the call to play left or if the club will stick with Matt Lawton after his suspension for substance abuse.

Offence

Ichiro is still a great lead-off man despite his aggressiveness and will once again challenge for the batting title and swiping plenty of bags. They are still waiting for Reed to be the hitter he projected to be when he was a top prospect in the White Sox system. A .254 average with 15 steals and only 3 HR won’t keep him as a starter for long.

Richie Sexson was a huge presence in the Mariners line-up last year posting 39 HR and 121 RBI and that was without the help of fellow big money free agent Adrian Beltre who returned to the form he showed in his non-contract years with 19 HR, a .255 average, a lot of K’s and not many walks.

Rookie Watch

Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls I give you Felix Hernandez the next great pitcher. Aged just 19 he got his call up and dominated. He has a mid-to high-90’s fastball, a nasty curveball, an improving change and a devastating hard slider that can touch 90 mph. He’s already tough and as he gets older and fills out he could start throwing harder which is a really scary thought.

Chris Snelling is a true professional hitter with great hands and a great eye and would be a major leaguer now if not for numerous injuries, most notably injuries to his left knee which has sapped him of his speed. Some question if he can stay an everyday player playing the corner outfield positions with below average power but he needs to find his niche soon.

The club are waiting on Jeff Clement to be the catcher of the future but for now Kenji Johjima will fill the role. He has a reputation as a strong defender with a strong arm and he’s apparently eager to learn English so he can work more effectively with his pitchers. He also factors in to being a solid hitter in the Benji Molina/Mike Matheny mould.

Management

Mike Hargrove’s success has unsurprisingly been heavily linked to the strength of the franchise he has managed for. In Cleveland he had a strong set-up around him and he developed a good young team into a powerhouse that won five straight division crowns. In Baltimore he had to endure the mess that is the Peter Angelos Orioles and the only thing that kept them from four straight last place finishes was the expansion Devil Rays.

Bavasi had an up and down time as GM of the Angels but was an integral part in putting the pieces together that won them the World Series in 2002 (although he was no longer a part of their front office at the time). Since leaving Anaheim he has been the Director of Player Development for the Dodgers and now they have one of the richest farm systems in the game. Time will tell if he is capable of being a GM or if he’s better suited to less high profile front office jobs.

Outlook

Its not inconceivable that Seattle will contend this year with good talent in key places on the roster but there are a lot of youngsters looking to establish themselves and a few key veterans looking to rebound from poor years. The depth of the team could also be better so don’t expect them to do too great but just don’t be surprised if they bump off a big club from time to time. In Seattle he will inherit some good young talent and plenty of building blocks to make a winner. In fact the reason GM Bill Bavasi hired him was because of the similarities between Seattle now and Cleveland in the early 90’s.